Systematicity in the semantics of noun compounds
The role of artifacts vs. natural kinds
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10294875 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Beth Levin (0009-0009-8952-3097, Stanford University, corresponding author), Lelia Gla (0000-0003-0428-7785, Georgia Institute of Technology), Lelia Glass (Georgia Institute of Technology), Dan Jurafsky (0000-0002-6459-7745, Stanford University) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 57 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 429-471 |
| Publication date | 2019-05-27 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Linguistics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0024-3949 • E-ISSN: 1613-396X |
| Publisher | Walter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1515/ling-2019-0013 |
| OpenAlex | W2945901489 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 37 |
The nature of the relationship between the head and modifier in English noun compounds has long posed a challenge to semantic theories. We argue that the type of head-modifier relation in an English endocentric noun-headed compound depends on how its referent is categorized: specifically, on whether the referent is conceptualized as an artifact , made by humans for a purpose; or as a natural kind , existing independently of humans. We propose the Events vs. Essences Hypothesis: the modifier in an artifact-headed compound typically refers to an event of use or creation associated with that artifact, while the modifier in a natural kind-headed compound typically makes reference to inherent properties reflective of an abstract essence associated with the kind, such as its perceptual properties or native habitat. We present three studies substantiating this hypothesis. First, in a corpus of almost 1,700 attested compounds in two conceptual domains (food/cooking and precious minerals/jewelry), we find that as predicted, compound names referring to artifacts tend to evoke events, whereas compound names referring to natural kinds tend to evoke essential properties. Next, in a production experiment involving compound creation and a comprehension experiment involving compound interpretation, we find that the same tendencies also extend to novel compounds
Artifact (error) · Compound · Comprehension · Head (geology) · Interpretation (philosophy) · Linguistics · Natural (archaeology) · Natural language processing · Noun · Noun phrase · Perception · Referent · Semantics (computer science) · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · History · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism · Philosophy · Psychology · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation
The Generative Lexicon
Morphology and Lexical Semantics
Word Meaning and Montague Grammar
Concepts, Kinds, and Cognitive Development
The Oxford Reference Guide to English Morphology
Naming and Necessity
The meaning of ‘meaning’
Intention, history, and artifact concepts
Random effects structure for confirmatory hypothesis testing
Loanwords in the World's Languages
Lexical semantic constraints on noun roots and noun borrowability
Where Have all the Adjectives Gone
Lexical Acculturation in Native American Languages
Sentential Context and the Interpretation of Familiar Open-Compounds and Novel Modifier-Noun Phrases
Nonevent -er nominals
Explanation in natural morphology, illustrated with comparative and agent-noun formation
On the Creation and Use of English Compound Nouns
Lexical Acculturation and Ethnobiology
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,13 |
| Citation span | 2018 - 2018 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |